Jen Portman, founder and owner

Always an avid athlete, Jen found yoga about 15 years ago when injuries prevented her from running and competing in triathlons. Bikram yoga quickly became her passion because of its physical intensity, as well as its ability to heal and strengthen, its power to create balance both mentally and physically, and for the simple freedom and joy it created in her life. One day she accidentally ventured into a hot vinyasa class and the rest is history. She has completed teacher trainings with Baron Baptiste and Schuyler Grant, and has also studied with Rajashree Choudery, Jason Wynne, Todd Norian, Dharma Mittra, Sadie Nardini and others. “Yoga has been such a gift to me, and I feel so lucky that I can help other people find it. One of my greatest joys is being able to provide a beautiful, peaceful yoga space to watch the blossoming of both teachers and students, and foster a community of happy yogis!”

In addition to yoga, Jen loves swimming, cooking, surfing, hiking and skiing with her husband and three grown children.

Kristin Gould

Kristin Gould (Jyoti), RYT is an inspired and spirited yoga teacher. Using her life-long experiences and dedication to ballet, creative dance and yoga, she brings passion, intuition and “grooviness” to her vinyasa style of yoga teaching. Kristin has studied many aspects of Ayurveda and Hatha yoga with both American and Indian yogis. She believes in order to be a responsible teacher, she must continue to be a humble student – always learning, growing and sharing her knowledge of this ancient practice from the countless numbers of teachers who have come before her. Kristin has a non-profit organization known asCoolKidsyoga, bringing yoga classes to children of all ages and abilities in schools and to those unable to pay for classes. Kristin is married and a mother of three children, who affectionately call her Swami Mommy. Together with her family, she enjoys cooking, gardening, painting, surfing and boating. Kristin reminds us that as we practice yoga with skillfulness uniting breath, body and soul, we are ultimately connecting to all things beyond our egos and off our mats. Through truth, joy, compassion, peace and love – we are all one!

Cara Yakey

Cara began practicing yoga almost 20 years ago. It was her passion for yoga that lead her to do her teacher training in 2001. She was trained in classic Hatha Yoga, but has practiced ashtanga, jivamukti, and Bikram. Cara strives to provide her students a safe enviroment in which to practice yoga. Prior to teaching yoga she worked as a physical therapist specializing in sports related injuries. She brings an extensive knowledge of anatomy and proper biomechanics to her teachings, always striving to teach her students the proper alignment of a posture. Besides being a devout yogi, Cara is the proud Mom of thirteen-year oldLucas. She also enjoys walking the boardwalk in Long Branch and riding her beach cruiser.

Tanya Williams

Tanya has been teaching yoga and serving her local community for the past seven years. She is trained in the Bikram Yoga advanced series and achieved both 200 and 500 hour teacher trainings with the highly respected Sri Dharma Mittra in New York City. She is a Certified Dharma Yoga teacher in levels I, II, and III.

For over a decade, Tanya has been studying the comprehensive and meditative path of Yoga (Raja) with Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee, an English mystic and Sufi lineage teacher.

Tanya is a committed student to the subtle teachings and philosophy of yoga and believes these aspects are of equal importance to the development of a strong asana practice. Contemplative by nature, Tanya is known by her students for continued patience, respect and dedication.

Stacey Kasselman

Stacey discovered the practice of yoga almost ten years ago when she read how beneficial it was for increasing strength, flexibility and balance. As an avid runner and former triathlete she needed to learn how to stretch, and the well-known advantages of stress reduction, mental clarity and focus as well as a more peaceful approach to life sounded promising. As her yoga practice deepened, she found the courage and confidence to work through a major life transition and decided to share her passion with others. She is trained in the Ashtanga Vinyasa tradition and has additional training in Power Vinyasa. Her classes are challenging, but thoughtfully prepared with emphasis on combining movement with breath. In reminding her students of the power of being in the present moment, they learn to access a deeper self-awareness and a much greater body connection. She is continually expanding on her own knowledge by learning from her students. The greatest gift of teaching for her is the deep well of compassion, love and understanding that has developed.

Daniel Abbott

Daniel Abbott E-RYT is a Yoga Alliance Certified Yoga Instructor, mathematician, multimedia artist, and trans-lineage esotericist. He is the founder of Kala Pravinya Yoga (www.KalaPravinyaYoga.com) and Abbott University (www.AbbottU.com). His Yoga-Related Certifications include a 200 hr Yoga Alliance Yoga Teacher Certification through Brahma Yoga (a traditional yoga school with roots traced to Satyananda Yoga) and a 200 hr Yoga Alliance Yoga Teacher Certification through Beth Shaw’s Yogafit (a dynamic vinyasa style with a heavy emphasis on conscious business practices and philanthropy). Daniel offers not only classes and workshops congruent with the Kala Pravinya Yoga style and philosophy, but also a Yoga Alliance Approved 200 Hour Yoga Teacher Training. More information about his offerings may be found at www.KalaPravinyaYoga.com.

Karen Hellman

A long time outdoor/fitness enthusiast, Karen discovered yoga more than a decade ago when an injury interrupted her training. What started as a temporary detour effectively changed the direction of her life. Fascinated by the multiplicity of yoga, Karen spent the next ten years fully immersing herself in the practice, attending numerous and varied workshops and classes exploring the physical body as a means of accessing the spiritual. In the summer of 2013, she formalized her education by completing a 200- hour “Yoga Synthesis” teaching certification program.

Karen brings to her teaching the wisdom of classical Hatha Yoga and incorporates the dynamic elements of more modern interpretations. The blending of these components cultivates the delicate balance of inner and outer strength that manifests itself in the experience of joy. Her classes are designed to make yoga accessible and meaningful to all and create an environment where the line between teacher and student dissolves.

As owner of the Gear Loft, Karen is well known in the community for the enthusiasm for outdoor pursuits she inspired in her customers. She brings this same enthusiasm to the yoga mat.

Eleonora Zampati

Eleonora is a native of Milan, Italy. She is a certified personal trainer, nutritionist, yogini and fitness enthusiast.Her wide range of teaching abilities include Pilates, Yogalates, Stretching, Video Dance, Total Body Workout, personal one-on-one fitness training, and a unique strength and conditioning class she designed especially for dancers and music lovers; Shakti Power Flow..

Her career began with varsity synchronized swimming, which later led her to become a fitness instructor, aPilates instructor and then a yoga teacher. After years of rigorous Ashtanga practice, she met Johanna Bell from Sonic Yoga NYC and discovered Vinyasa Yoga.This yoga flow changed her life and transformed her teaching, freeing her vision of the practice by showing her the deeper connection between breath and movement, the cathartic power of the music, and the union of body and soul.Since then, with the knowledge that yoga is much more than a physical practice and that life is all about finding a balance between fierceness and playfulness, she has been teaching in different studios in New York and Brooklyn and New Jersey.

Eleonora has always had a passion for fitness. Through dedication and hard work she helps people to reach their goals and empower themselves through strength and wellness, all while having fun. She continually challenges herself and is always seeking new ways to step outside of her comfort zone.

Vanessa Van Noy

With a personal Yoga practice that spans over 15 years, Vanessa has trained in several styles and lineages, both nationally and internationally, she mainly teaches in a vinyasa style.

She does not subscribe to any particular doctrine but rather allows her students to explore and adapt their experience, both on and off the mat. She is constantly learning and changing as a teacher and she encourages her students to do the same.

Vanessa has been guiding students in the NY/NJ area for over 13 years. She has worked with all types of yogis from children to the elderly, from professional athletes to those with physical impairments, and everyone in between. Her training as a Certified Thai Yoga Massage Therapist allows her to be very hands on in her classes, helping her students adjust and get deeper within their practice, comfortably and at their own pace.

Eileen Natale

Eileen is a 500 hour RYT, trained in the YogaWorks method, which combines the Iyengar andAshtanga methods with a focus on alignment and safety. Although Eileen enjoys many forms of yoga, she is passionate about the Hot 26 series. She has practiced locally for years and regularly visits Bikram Studios in New York City.

Eileen attends a wide variety of workshops to increase her knowledge and enjoyment of yoga, such as Bikram Yoga with Rajashree Choudhury, Arm Balances with Carrie Owerko, Inversions, Backbends, Hip Openers, Yoga Massage, Yoga for Back Pain, Ayurvedaand Meditation. Eileen also regularly visits YogaWorks and the Iyengar Institute in New York to refocus on Alignment. She has been teaching locally since 2011.

Allison Caulfield

Allison is a Yoga Alliance 200-hour registered yoga instructor, trained by Ann Yocum at Colts Neck Hot Yoga and newly certified in February 2014. Always active in various sports and fitness, Allison found hot yoga four years ago and became instantly hooked. Inspired by so many of her teachers and motivated to deepen and improve her own practice, Allison had the good fortune and opportunity to pursue a training program. After spending the last 12+ years as a stay-at-home mom to three wonderful daughters, it felt like a perfect fit and transition to something for which she’s developed such a deep connection. A practitioner of many forms, Allison primarily teaches the Hot 26 series. What draws her most to the series is the gift of observation. “To step on the mat and practice the same sequence of poses each class, yet encounter so many differences in the body and mind, really enables a student to appreciate and recognize the importance of living in the moment. If someone told me a year ago that I would have turned my love and passion for yoga into a job at my beloved local studio I would not have believed it. Yoga has been such a gift in my life-mind, body and spirit-and I am so grateful for the opportunity to help others find how yoga can enhance their lives on and off the mat.” www.ayogamamamuses.blogspot.com.

Meredith Koloski

Meredith (RYT), holds a Masters of Fine Arts Degree with an emphasis in kinesiology and dance choreography from Arizona State University and is a certified personal trainer and wellness coach specializing in injury prevention through the National Academy of Sports Medicine. Her passion to explore movement as a form of therapy and to deepen the ongoing process of self exploration and teachings in yogic philosophy brought her to the YogaLife Institute in Philadelphia where she completed her teacher training in Classical Yoga and Prenatal Yoga. She has also studied Baptiste Power Yoga with Christine Aspen as well as Core Strength Vinyasa with Sadie Nardini. Whether teaching vinyasa, beginner, Core Power, dance or fitness she hopes to guide every student to feel comfortable to take risks mentally as well as physically, at their own level, and be able to take the learning’s on their mat, off into their everyday lives.. . She was featured in May 2010 issue of Dance Teacher magazine for a for a program she co-designed titled “Optimal Fitness” based on incorporating fitness and yoga into the dance class for injury prevention. She is currently a proud mother of a 4 year old and works for an amazing nutritional cleansing company as a coach guiding people through health and wealth transformations.

Amy Budinich

From her first yoga class at the Esalen Institute in California, to the beginnings of her journey taking Bikram while living in Los Angeles, Amy has long devoted herself to the principals and postures of yoga.

Walking out of Amy’s yoga class, you feel as though you have truly challenged yourself; pushing the limits outside of one’s own comfort zone. Amy’s teachings focus not only on the physical, but the entire mind/body connection. She believes the practice of yoga begins as a physical quest and then transforms itself into a search of self realization. This search enables the mind, body and spirit to become connected; igniting the inner voice within one’s soul.

Through her empathetic nature, coupled with her compassion and innate pull towards helping others, Amy’s teachings brought her to share the gift of yoga at a local Drug and Alcohol rehab. Through this work, offering another modality of healing on the road to recover, Amy co-founded a non-profit organization, Root to Rise, Inc. This organization's mission is to break the stigmas associated with addiction by pushing the limits of what is physically and mentally possible. More information on Root to Rise can be found atwww.roottorisenj.com. Amy’s trainings include: Hot 26 training in 2011, 2012 Baron Baptiste Level 1 Teacher training in Hawaii, Drishti Power Yoga Training in 2015 and Yoga Gangster’s Training in 2015.

Julie Pare

Julie accidentally ended up in a yoga class after more than 20 years as aserious runner, math nerd, and inflexible klutz. An unlikely yoga student,she was surprised to find that she loved the combination of peacefulness andintensity inherent in yoga practice, and she loved how it complemented herrunning. Julie completed her 200 hour training with Yogaworks and shestrongly believes in focusing on proper alignment while moving with breath.Off the mat, she can be found baking cakes, building financial models,spilling coffee, and tripping over things while out running.

Alice Nelson

Alice is Bikram and Kripalu certified in Yoga and AFFA certified in fitness. She has been teaching group fitness classes for over 20 years and loves teaching Bikram yoga, aka, hot 26 the best. It provides everything the body, mind and spirit needs to stay flexible in body and mind. Alice currently lives in Sarasota Florida so she can bike all year round. She is back in New Jersey in the summers to teach you!